What If Katniss Didn't Volunteer?
by MisssBitterSweet
Summary: What if Katniss never did volunteer? What if Prim was forced into the games? What would have happened to her? This is just one idea
1. Chapter 1

Prim sat under the glaring lights, her light orange dress rippling and shimmering with every move she made, a sweet but fake smile fixed on her face. "I love your badge Primrose, where did you get it?" Ceaser asked her softly. He had a way of making the bright audience disappear. "My sister gave me it to me to protect me. It was given to her by a friend." Prim answered carefully. A far away buzzer indicated that her time on stage. Ceaser turned back to the crowd and spoke loudly and cheerfully, dismissing Prim and inviting on her district partner Peeta. Prim moved back into the shadows and tried to tune out the current interview when she heard Peeta say "I will give her something better than that, I will give her her sister back." Shock and upset bubbled inside Primrose instantly but Peeta's buzzer went off and before she could react Effie was ushering her into an elevator and back to their apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Prim sat on the end of her bed, wishing she had Buttercup to cuddle. She gave up on sleep and padded down the carpeted hall to Peeta's room. She knocked carefully on his door. "Come in". She slowly opened the door and slipped inside. Peeta was sat in a big cushioned chair so Prim sat on the bed and hugged a pillow to her. They sat in silence for a few slow minutes before Prim said "I'm not going to survive. We both know that." Peeta shook his head softly. "You will survive Primrose, I will make sure of it. Plus you will have masses of sponsors already! You're so soft and sweet, the Capitol has fallen head over heels for you." Primrose smiled but it was half-hearted. 'A small girl ruined by tragedy and rules' Peeta thought to himself. Prim laid down but kept watching Peeta. "I dragged her to the cake shop every day for you." Prim told him. "I always hoped she would realise how nice you are and that you like her but you never did. I think she is just too scared to love anyone after the incident down the mines." Prim continued quietly. She rubbed her eyes and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Neither of them said anything else and Primrose soon fell asleep. Peeta brushed her hair out of her eyes, removed the pillow from between her arms and carefully carried her into her own bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Cinna walked alongside Prim to a small room under the new arena. Her arm was still sore from having the tracker injected. They sat on squishy sofas, facing one another in silence. Prim had to raise her hand every minute to brush the tears away. Cinna watched her sadly. He opened his mouth and tried to form comforting words but he couldn't. He closed his mouth. Countless times he tried to find the words to comfort Prim, to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes. In the end he gave up and sat next to her. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. She placed her head on his shoulder and it wasn't long before Cinna could feel water drip onto his shoulder. They sat there for several hours but the warning came through to say that the tributes had to enter their 'capsules', ready to enter the arena. They both stood slowly and walked towards the tall cylinder. Cinna wiped the tears from Prims cheeks and tapped her chin to remind her to keep her chin up. "You'll be fine sweetheart, just stick by Peeta and I promise you will be OK. He will protect you." He gave her a quick hug and then the glass door closed and separated them. Prim wiped the last tear from her eyes and stood straight, ready for the games.


	4. Chapter 4

Prim looked frantically for Peeta. She couldn't see him because of the cornucopia. The countdown finished and bloodthirsty tributes ran towards cornucopia. Prim saw Peeta running towards her, a knife in one hand. Prim saw a bright orange backpack not far awa from her feet and made a swipe for it at the same time as an older girl. The girl tried to fight her for it but Peeta stabbed her once in the back, grabbed Prims hand and pulled her into the woods. They ran forward for what felt like hours but Prim was soon gasping for air and Peeta was desperate for water. They found a spot where the ground was softer and there were many close trees. They sat against trees and breathed heavily for five minutes. They heard soft footstep heading their way and jumped up. Peeta pushed Prim behind him and held up the knife he had collected. They stood ready until Rue, the small girl from district 11 appeared in front of them. Prim gave a sigh of relief and relaxed her defensive stance but Peeta stayed ready to fight. Fear filled Rues eyes but Prim pulled his arm away and he finally relaxed. "Hi." Prim said quietly. Rue waved back shyly. "I will go and find some food" Peeta told the girls and walked away. They sat in silence for hours until Peeta clumped back with three headless birds clutched in his hands. "We have them in my district. We eat them all the time, they taste quite nice." Rue told them. Peeta nodded and set the girls to plucking the feathers out of the birds while he found a safe place to light a fire. They ate in a small cave and then settled down in a big sleeping bag and slept until the next morning.


	5. Chapter 5

When they woke on the seventh morning there were more of the birds on the floor, vines hanging over the entrance to the cave and a small fire burning. Prim and Rue began to eat hungrily before Prim noticed a big silver capsule sat in a corner. Peeta notices where she was looking and opened the capsule and pulled out three bottles of water. "One each" he said, handing the two young girls a bottle each. "How many are… Gone?" Rue asked quietly, accepting the bottle. "Not many. All the careers have already died. They reset the mines in the earth around the cornucopia. Seemed like a good idea until Clove tripped and set them all off. There are four people are left including us." He told them. Rue stood and stepped outside of the cave into the sunlight. She began to sing softly to the birds in the surrounding trees. Prim begun to copy the song when Rue screamed. Peeta ran outside and two minutes later he walked back in shaking his head sadly. The canon rang out and Prim's eyes began to fill with tears. She stepped outside and brushed Rues hair carefully out of her eyes. She sang Rues song softly until the giant claw came down and carried her body away. Peeta hugged her and then they walked back into the cave. The girl from district 9 with an almost fox-like face sat in their cave, facing the back wall and looking through Prims bag. Peeta ran towards her agrily and grabbed her head, snapping her neck with one quick movement. Her body went limp and he angrily threw her body out as the second canon went off. They stayed inside the cave for a few more hours and then began to make their way towards the cornucopia. "What now?" Prim asked quietly. Peeta shrugged and grabbed a few berries off of a nearby bush and offered them to Prim. She shook her head, feeling sick with fear. He nodded and put them into his pocket. They walked all day and finally made it to the big golden cornucopia. Peeta circled it once, twice, three times. Prim laid on the hard dirt, watching the bright blue sky, looking for any small sign of the outside world still existing. Peeta sat beside her and begun to eat the berries. Then he fell to the ground and the canon went off one last time.


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days were a blur full of loud interviews, pretty pink dresses, heavy crowns and rich food. When Prim woke up on the fifth day after leaving the arena she was on a train speeding past unfamiliar trees. She pulled on some shoes and walked down to the food cart where Effie was sat with a cup of hot chocolate and Haymitch a large bottle of white liqueur. She sat at the table and was about to grab a warm roll of bread when Effie gave her an extremely tight hug and Haymitch gave her a drunk smile and a "You did it sweetheart." Prim smiled happily at Haymitch and hugged Effie back, careful not to knock her big pink wig askew. She ate happily and then the train began to slow down. Effie ushered her towards the door and told her to 'remember to smile!'. Prim did as she was told. When the doors slid open camera flashes blinded her and the shouts of interviewers made her ears ring. Then Katniss barged her way through the masses of people and runs towards Prim. Tears stream down her face and Katniss pulls Prim into a long, tight hug. Katniss spins her around, stroking her soft blonde hair and constantly whispering "You're here, you're home." Effie pulled Prim out of Katniss' tight grip and leads them towards a cart that's ready to take them to their new house in Victors Village. Katniss squeezes Prims hand and smiles. "You're finally here. You're finally home. You're finally _safe_."


End file.
